Time lapse indicator



Oct. 17, 1961 Filed Dec. 5, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 &\

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JOHN C. VAN AKEN ATTORNEY Oct. 17, 1961 J. c. VAN AKEN TIME LAPSEINDICATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 3, 1959 INVENTOR. JOHN C. VAN AKENATTORNEY Oct. 17, 1961 J. c. VAN AKEN 3,00

TIME LAPSE INDICATOR Filed D60. 5, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 7

IN V EN TOR. JOH N G. VAN AKEN ATTORNEY United States Patent TIME LAPSEINDICATGR John C. Van Aken, 159 Main St, Ridgway, Pa. Filed Dec. 3,1959, Ser. No. 857,078 3 Claims. (Cl. 340-43) This invention relates toautomatic street traflic signals and is particularly concerned withmodifying such signals in a manner to provide safety measures forpedestrian trafiic.

Street trafiic signals in general utilize a yellow or amber lightbetween changes of the red and green signals. The purpose of the yellowor amber light is to warn or caution all trafhc that a change from redto green or from green to red will take place in a short period usuallyin a matter of seconds. This short warning or caution period is often ofno avail to pedestrian trafiic caught midway of a cross walk since motortraiiic may proceed on an anticipated green signal before the pedestriantrafiic is clear of the intersection which, of course, results ininconvenience, confusion and possibly accidents.

It is the broad object of this invention to supplement the usual trafliclight signal system with a timing device which may indicate topedestrian traffic whether or not there is sufficient time to cross anintersection in safety.

Another object is to provide an auxiliary housing containing time lapsemechanism and which is readily attachable to street traffic signals.

Another object is to provide'an auxiliary housing containing a compactarrangementof time lapse indicating mechanism.

Still another object is to provide a time lapse device which may berelatively inexpensively produced but provides an accuratetime lapseindicator.

Other and more detailed objects of the invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed explaination of the invention.

Referring to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation showing diagrammatically the device of thepresent invention attached to a street traihc signal.

7 FIG. 2 is a plan view of the assembly of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an enlargedvertical sectional view of the device of the present invention.

4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 taken at 90 thereto.

FIG. 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 55 of FIG. 4. a

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the apparatus of H61 and showing a wiringarrangement for synchronizing the operation of the main traffic signalwith the auxiliary time lapse indicator lights.

FIG. 7 is a modification of the time lapse mechanism adapting the devicefor other uses.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, the numeral 10 indicates a conventionalstreet traffic signal structure having signal lights therein which arerepresented at G and R as the respective Go and Stop" signals andcontaining their operating electrical equipment. The traffic signal 10is usually supported on a tubular standard 11 and power from a source issupplied to the signals G and R through suitable connecting linesenclosed in the standard 11 to supply power from a source. The abovegeneral structure is well known and is indicated by phantom lines whilethe device of the present invention is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1in full lines as an attachment to the old structure.

The time lapse device of this invention is in the form of an elongatedrectangular or oblong shaped housing 12, of metal or other material towithstand weathering, which is readily attachable to the trafiicsignal'structure j 10 through bolt connections 13-13 and containsthe timelapse'indicating equipment which is readily visible through ice . 2transparent front face 14 to an observer along with the street traificsignals G and R. The front face 14 isgeneral arcuately shaped intransverse cross section and is removably secured to the housing 12 bybolt connections 15-.15.

Detailed construction of the time lapse indicator is shown in FIGS. 3, 4and 5 andthe various elements are selected and arranged to provide arugged relatively inexpensive and yet an accurate indicating mechanism.The auxiliary housing 12 provides an elongate rectangular or oblongcompartment formed of side walls 20 and 21, rear wall 22 with upper andlower ends 23 and 24 respectively and the plastic transparent front face14. A U-shaped carriage 25 for mounting other elements is located withinthe compartment and is arranged to be movable longitudinally thereofbetween the housing ends 23 and 24. The carriage 25 is formedconveniently of non conducting material such as a molded plastic and hasa top plate 26 and a bottom plate 27 which provide a sliding and guidingfit with side walls 20 and 21 of the auxiliary housing 12. A lead screw28 has its upper end 29 rotatably mounted in the upper end 23 of housing12 and its lower end 30 rotatably mounted in an L-shaped bracket 31which is fixed to the housing rear wall 22 by screws 32 and provides aspace 33 with the housing lower end 24. The lead screw 28 is of rigidconstruction and extends through threaded apertures in the top andbottom plates 26 and 27 of the carriage 25 providing an arrangement, onrotation of lead screw 28, for raising or lowering the carriage 25 as iswell known in the art. For the purpose of rotating the screw 28, ahorizontal friction disk 34 is fixed as by a locking nut as shown inFIG. 3, to its lower end 30 and coacts with a vertical friction disk 35which is fixedly mounted on shaft 36 of a reversible motor M for drivingthe. lead screw 28 in either direction of rotation. F The top and bottomplates 26 and 2'7 of carriage 25 are interconnected by a front panel 37which has upper and lower metal inserts or receptacles 38 and 39disposed in apertures formed therein for receiving respectively an uppergreen light G anda lower red light R which correspondin position withthe main trafiic lights G and R of FIG. 1. The bulb receptacle 38 isprovided with a pair of terminal posts 40--40 and the bulb receptacle 39is provided with apair of terminal posts 41-41 for receiving wires orelectrical connections from elements to be described.

, .A plurality. of fixed conductors 42, 43, 44 and 45 exand spacedtransversestrips of insulation 46 are inter posed between the conductorsand the rear wall 22 of theauxiliary housing 12. The conductors arefixedly secured by means of screws 47 which are countersunk in the frontface of the conductors and the conductors provide aninner pair 43 and 45and an outer pair 42 and 44. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, bolts 48 extendthrough the upper end portions of inner conductors 43 and -45 and havenuts 49--49 at their rear ends for securing connectors 50 from a switch51 which controls current from a power source. t

Movable conductors 52, 53 and 54, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, are secured tothe underface of the plate 26 of carriage 25 by means of bolts 55 andare positioned to be in constant physical contact with the fixedconductors 42, 43 and 44 during movement of the carriage 25.

Connectors 606162 and 63 interconnect the bulb receptacles 38 and 39with the movable conductors 52,

receptacle 39. Thus, the fixed conductors 42, and 44 are arranged to bein circuit with the lights G and R through the movable conductors andthe lights are energized alternately and for predetermnied timedurations by a mechanical arrangement to be deseribed. As shown in thelower portion of FIG. 4 the fixed conductors 42, 43 and 44 arerespectively provided with wires 64, 65 and 66 for connection to theterminals of motor M and it is to be understood that suitable relay orswitch means may be provided to reverse the motor for changing thedirection of travel of the carriage 25.

The arrangement for alternately supplying power to the lights G and R inaccordance with the direction of travel of the carriage 25 resides inthe provision of upper and lower transverse rocker arms 70 and 71 shownin FIG. 4, each of which is mounted for limited pivotal movement. Tothis end the upper arm 70 is mounted in a slot 72 formed in theconductor 45 by a nut and bolt assembly indicated at 73 which permitsvertical adjustment of the arm 70 in the slot and also provides for thelimited pivotal movement of the arm 70. The lower arm 71 is mounted onlyfor limited pivotal movement by a nut and bolt assembly 74 extendingthrough an insulation strip 46 and the back 22 of the housing 12. Therocker arms have their right end portions interconnected by a verticalrod 75 which is threaded at its upper and lower end portions forreception in apertured lugs 76-7 7 extending from the rocker arms andadjustably mounted by means of adjusting nuts 7879.

The upper end portions of conductors 42 and 44 are slotted similarly tothe conductor 45 and adjustably receive Lshaped' elements 80 and 81having lower contact lugs 82 and 83 and the elements 80 and 81 aresecured in theslotted conductors 42 and 44 by adjusting bolts 84 and 85.The carriage 25 is provided'with upper and lower extensions or arms 90and 91 which are respectively secured by screws 92 and 93 to the upperand lower plates 26 and 27 of the carriage and physically customaryautomatic timing switch 100 which is set to operate the 'lights'G and Ralternately and during selected abut or contact in alternation the leftside of thetranstime periods. To this end wires 101 and 102 areconnected with the light R while wires 103 and 104 are connected withthe light G from switch 100. The time lapse light R has directconnections 105 and 106 with the wires 101 and 102 while the time lapselight G has direct connections 107 and 108 with the wires 103 and 104which provide for operation of the light R only while light R isoperating and for the operation of light G only while light G isoperating.

In order to reverse the direction of movement of the carriage 25, aswitch 110 is mounted on the carriage and lines 111 and 112 interconnectthe switch with the power lines X and Y while pairs of leads 113114 and115116 are connected between the switch 110 and motor M. Cooperatingstops 117 and 118 are mounted on the rear wall 22 of the auxiliaryhousing 14 and operate to reverse the operation of motor M and totransfer power from one of lights G or R to the other. The stops 117 and118 will be adjustable, for example, as shown and explained inconnection with FIG. 3 in order to be synchronized with the timedoperation of the lights GR. The switch 110 is provided with a pivotedarm 119 which is actuated upon contact with the stops 117 or 118 at theupper or lower limit of movement of the carriage 25 to reverse motor Mand to change power between lights G and R By this arrangement it isapparent that in case of a burn out of either of the lights G or R, theauxiliary lights G or R could function to control traflic.

The modification of FIG. 7 is adapted for uses other than for traflicsignals and is generally like FIG. 3, differing therefrom in details ofconstruction. This modification provides a unit which is arranged to beplugged into an electrical outlet and many be used for timing machineoperations or could be inexpensively constructed and used as a toy. Thecarriage 25 is provided with a vertical partition 120 providing innerand outer compartments 121 and 122. A switch as 110 in FIG. 6 having apivoted switch arm 119 is supported on the vertical partition anddisposed in the outer compartment 122 and pairs electrical connections123-124 and 125-126 extend across the inner through the spring contactor53 and connectors 61 and 62 and to one or the other of the outerconductors 42or 44 through the transverse arm 70. One or the other ofmovable conductors 52 or 53 will be energized in accordance with thedirection of travel of the carriage 25,

through contact of the transverse arm 70 with one of contacts 82 or 83,and the other side of lights G or R will be energized. The conductor 42will be energized through the contact 82 during one direction ofmovement of the carriage 25 and light G 'will be on while the conductor44 will be energized during the other direction of movement of thecarriage 25 and light R will be on.

The time of travel of the carriage 25 in either direc tion will besynchronized with the operation of the lights G and R of the trafiicsignal 10. The travel time of carriage 25 is made variable throughadjustment of the lugs 80 and 81, the transverse arm 70 and theconnecting rod 75 for the purpose of synchronizing lights G and R withlights G and R.

By provision of the auxiliary housing and time lapse indicatingmechanism of the invention a pedestrian will be apprised of theapproximate time he has to cross an intersection by merely observing therelative position of the light G or R in the housing whereas with theusual street traflic signal there is no positive way to estimate thelength of time before a light change. p

In FIG. 6, power from a source is supplied by lines X and Y to thetraflic signal lights G and R through the compartment '121 between theswitch and the'G and R lights respectively. Other pairs of electricalconnections 113114 and 116 extend from the switch 110 to the motor M, asshown in FIG. 6. The top and bottom.

plates 26 and 27 of the carriage 25 form slots or spaces 127 and 128with the rear wall 22 of. housing 14 and permit passage of the upper andlower stops 117 andl118 into the outer compartment 122 of the carriage25 to contact the pivoted switch arm '119 for reversing operation of themotor M and the alternate operation of the lights G and R The L-shapedbracket 31 is reversed from its position shown in FIG. 3 in order toprovide for uninterrupted movement of the carriage to its lowermostposition to provide contact between the lower stop 118 and switch arm119. A seocnd switch 130 is mounted on the outer wall 22 of housing 14and is provided with a cord and plug assembly 131 for insertion in anelectrical outlet. Connections 132 and 133 extend between switch 130 andswitch 110 and are contained within the outer compartment. It will beunderstood, of course, that the wire connections will be coiled orcompactly arranged or be of the extensible type in order to permitmovement of the carriage 25 and associated elements.

It willbe obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may bemade to the present disclosure without departing from the inventionwhich is limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

A traffic signal having standard Go and Stop lights, mam power supplylines and a set of switch controlled conductors for each of the lights,in combinationfa time lapse indicator comprising a housing having sidewalls including a transparent face and upper and lower end walls, arotatable lead screw mounted longitudinally of the housing between itsend walls, a carriage having top and bottom plates providing a spacetherebetween, said plates being interconnected by a front panel andsupported by said lead screw, a pair of longitudinally spaced lightreceptacles on the front panel of the carriage, one receptacle having anauxiliary Go light therein and the other having an auxiliary Stop lighttherein, connections between the one receptacle and the set ofconductors of one standard light, other connections between the otherreceptacle and the set of conductors of the other standard light, aswitch supported by the carriage and having conncctions to the powersupply lines, a pivoted control arm for said switch having a free enddisposed adjacent one wall of the housing, a reversible motor in thehousing operatively connected to the lead screw for reciprocating thecarriage within the housing, said top and bottom plates having edgeportions positoined to cooperate with a wall of the housing to maintainthe carriage panel aligned with the transparent face of the housingduring the carriage reciprocation, a first set of electrical condoctorsbetween said switch and motor, a second set of electrical conductorsbeing the switch and motor, a first stop on said one wall of the housingspaced from one of its end walls, a second stop on said one wall of thehousing spaced from its other end wall, said free end of the pivotedcontrol arm during movement of the carriage in one direction contactingsaid first stop to deenergize one set of electrical conductors andenergize the other set and during movement of the carriage in its otherdirecn'on contacting the second stop to energize the one set ofelectrical conductors and denergize the other set.

2. A time elapse indicator for use with a trailic signal having standardGo and Stop lights, main power supply lines and a set of switchcontrolled conductors for each of the lights, said indicator comprisinga housing having side walls including a transparent face and upper andlower end walls, a rotatable lead screw mounted longitudinally of thehousing between its end walls, a carriage having top and bottom platesinterconnected by a front panel and supported by said lead screw, a pairof longitudinally spaced light receptacles on the front panel of thecarriage, one receptacle for receiving an auxiliary Go light and theother for receiving an auxiliary Stop light, connections from the onereceptacle for attachment to the set of conductors of one standardlight, other connections from the other receptacle for attachment to theset of conductors of the other standard light, a switch supportedbetween the carriage plates and having connections for attachment to thepower supply lines, a pivoted control arm for said switch disposedbetween the carriage plates and having a free end adjacent the rear wallof the housing, a reversible motor in the housing operatively connectedto the lead screw for reciprocating the carriage within the housing,said top and bottom plates having rear edge portions positioned adjacentthe rear wall of the housing to maintain the carriage panel aligned withthe transparent face of the housing during the carriage reciprocation, afirst set of electrical conductors between said switch and motor, asecond set of electrical conductors between the switch and motor, afirst stop on the rear wall of the housing spaced from one of its endwalls, a second stop on the rear wall of the housing spaced from itsother end wall, said free end of the pivoted control arm during movementof the carriage in one direction contacting said first stop and duringmovement of the carriage in its other direction contacting the secondstop.

3. A time lapse indicator for a street trafi'ic signal which comprises ahousing having end walls and side walls including a transparent face, alead screw mounted longitudinally of the housing between its end walls,a carriage having top and bottom plates interconnected by a front paneland supported by said lead screw, a reversible motor in the housing,connections between said lead screw and motor for moving the carriagelongitudinally of the housing, said carriage panel having a pair oflongitudinally spaced light receptacles therein, one receptacle forreceiving a lamp of one color and the other for receiving a lamp ofanother color, said top and bottom plates providing a space therebetweenand having rear edge portions positioned adjacent the rear wall of thehousing to maintain the carriage panel aligned with the transparent faceof the housing, a pair of fixed inner power conductors and a pair offixed outer power conductors extending longitudinally of the housingadjacent its rear wall, one of said inner conductors pivotally mountinga transverse conductor arm, said outer conductors each having acontactor lug extending therefrom, an inner movable conductor means anda pair of outer movable conductor means mounted in said space betweenthe carriage plates, said inner movable conductor means providing anelectrical connection between the other of said fixed inner conductorsand each of said receptacles, one of said pair of outer movableconductor means providing an electrical connection between one of saidouter fixed conductors and one of said pair of receptacles and the otherof said outer movable conductor means providing an electrical connectionbetween the other outer fixed conductor and the other of said pair ofreceptacles, said reversible motor being connected to said other innerfixed conductor and to each of said outer fixed conductors and means onthe carriage operative to pivot said transverse arm in contactalternately with the contactor lugs carried by the outer fixedconductors.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,227,613 Wells Jan. 7, 1941

